Powerless
by BOOFIRE191
Summary: The powerless son of two fallen heroes tries to protect the decaying city of Foredale with aid from a mysterious alien armor known as a Mantle. This is an original work inspired by My Hero Academia, Power Rangers, and even Berserk. The Chapters are scripts I record for YouTube, (BOOFIRE191) they're meant to be read out loud hence some of the clunky Grammar at points.
1. Powerless 1 A Simple Question

"Kit. It's a simple question." declared a scarred woman, "What does it mean to be a hero?"

"Sorry Instructor Sybille." Kit replied looking down at his desk, "That's a question I'm still trying to figure out."

With a blackboard behind her, Instructor Sybille leaned back and raised a hand to her temple. Suddenly, the classroom erupted into laughter as the students began to ridicule Kit.

"What are you, stupid?" called out one student

"Man he really is an idiot." cried out another

With his head still down, Kit watched out of the corner of his eye as a young woman with dark skin and short black hair fixed her gaze upon him and asked, "Then why are you here?" with a tone of utter disgust.

"Everybody, shut your mouths!" Instructor Sybille shouted at the top of her lungs, "Unlike the rest of you, at least he had the honesty to give a genuine answer."

The once rowdy students quieted down in an instant, afraid to so much as breathe without further angering their teacher. This however did little to improve Kit's mood, in fact he felt even more embarrassed than before. He felt small.

"Kit. Look at me." Sybille's voice wasn't warm or kind. It was simply matter of fact.

Gently, Kit raised his head to look at Sybille as he still slouched in his seat. Though the classroom was well lit and maintained, the young fifteen year old boy couldn't see anything but the battle scarred teacher. Kit only saw what was right before him as if he had tunnel vision.

"Being a hero is dangerous. The likelihood of death is exceedingly high," explained Instructor Sybille while pointing at her missing eye, "So is the chance of suffering a fate that's even worse."

"I understand that." replied Kit, "Probably more than I should."

The young boy looked back down at his desk, and opened his hands. They were riddled with severe burn scarring which hadn't properly healed making them seem misshapen and deformed.

With a slight sigh, Sybille's stern expression softened as she cocked her head to the side. There was something about Kit's words which struck a chord. The instructor didn't have much time to think on this however as the bell marking the end of the day rang out. One by one each of the students left, chatting amongst themselves before the commute home. Each of them except one.

"I respect your honesty, but that uncertainty. That weakness." Sybille said as Kit readied to leave the empty classroom, "It's going to get you killed."

Almost out the door, Kit turned back and waited for his Instructor to finish.

"That question I asked, you've got until Monday to find an answer." explained Sybille, "If you can't then you'll no longer have a place at this Academy. So don't bother coming back."

The teacher's words stuck with Kit as he did his best to avoid other students and their hushed whispers. All he wanted to do was grab his jacket, grab his bag, and leave. Though he was met with a few glares, and many amused expressions from other classmates, Kit did precisely that as he stepped out onto the decaying streets of Foredale. The City Without Heroes.

Putting his hood up to protect himself from the falling rain, Kit looked back at his school, the Foredale Neophyte Academy, and shook his head. He found it ironic that the one building dedicated to training the next generation of heroes was still maintained and standing, while the city surrounding it was literally falling apart and being consumed by vegetation.

Reaching into his pocket, Kit pulled out a phone and placed it next to his ear.

"This is Brett." said a voice over the speaker, "I can't come to the phone right now, so please leave a message at the beep," as the phone beeped, Kit raised his head to the stormy sky with his eyes closed.

"Would you look at that." the boy said to himself, "Another rainy day."

Still on the phone, Kit began his solitary walk home.

"Hey Dad, just checking in." stated Kit

Though the beautiful Gothic architecture of Foredale was still prominently on display, much of it had fallen into ruin as the population fled in the wake of rising crime and economic collapse. Those who called this city their home where either truly desperate and couldn't afford to leave, or truly depraved and took advantage of the awful situation.

"Finished my first day at the academy and it went…." Kit paused as he watched a group of hoodlum throw rocks at an abandoned building, breaking its windows, "...well it went," he finished while continuing his walk.

The further Kit got from downtown Foredale, the more ruined the city began to look. Whole blocks were either bombed out piles of debris, or abandoned and consumed by vegetation. Though there were reconstruction attempts, remnants of which could be seen on propaganda posters encouraging Civil Service, nothing had ever been accomplished. Funds sent to the city by the League of Nations just had a tendency to go missing.

As he walked, Kit felt a sudden crunch beneath his feet and stopped. Looking down, the young boy spotted an old magazine and picked it up. The publication was a rather old issue of Hero Watch, its headline: Foredale's Dynamic Duo. It's cover had two heroes, one man regaled in black that wore an eyeless mask named Orion, and a woman adorned with vibrant colors that had a pair of legs made of water named Silkie. At the bottom was a sub-header which stated: The City Without Heroes' Unlikely Guardians.

"Got asked a question I didn't know the answer to." Kit said to the phone, "Ended up making a fool out of myself."

Down a nearby alley, Kit could see two individuals trying to break into a car.

"Oh well." Kit continued as the distant criminals made off with their ill gotten gains, "These things happen."

Putting one foot in front of the other, Kit let go of the magazine and let it fall on the rain soaked streets.

"Don't sweat the petty things right?" Kit asked continuing his walk.

Getting out of the rain, Kit steps into a hospital room and spots a familiar sight. A legless woman staring out a windowing watching the approaching storm. She pays no mind to the young boy's arrival.

"Mom isn't doing any worse but…" Kit explains.

Setting his bag down by the table next to the woman, Kit pulls out a few books and begins working on homework.

"...she hasn't gotten any better."

Time passes as late afternoon fades into mid evening. Kit continues working on his homework while the woman remains motionless in her wheelchair watching the rain fall. Standing up, the young boy goes over to her and gets on his knees. He places both of her hands onto his, trying to elicit some sort of response, but gets nothing. She just continues to stare out the window watching the rain fall.

"At this point I'd settle for her just noticing me." Kit says with a lump in his throat.

Letting go of his mother's hands, the young boy looks down and grips his knees tightly.

"Or anyone for that matter."

On the streets of Foredale once again, surrounded by oak trees that sway in the wind as rain steadily falls, Kit puts his phone away and looks down.

"Hey Dad. I gotta ask." Kit says while staring at a gravestone. It reads: Brett Meier. November 29th 2017 - December 19 2047 with the words, See You Later, etched in at the bottom.

"Why did you do it? Why did you choose being a hero over-" Kit stopped himself and fell silent for a long time.

"Sorry. That was selfish."

The silhouettes of Foredale's skyscrapers loom in the distance as the sun slowly sets.

"I miss you." the young boy declared, "I miss both of you so much."

Turning back, Kit says, "See ya later old man. We'll talk again soon," before walking out of the cemetery.

Now a few blocks away from his previous destination, the young boy begins to hear something rather peculiar. Near an abandoned apartment building, and past its adjacent alleway, Kit could perceive sounds he could only describe as fighting.

Suddenly, as the boy approached the alleway, a giant plume of fire erupted behind the apartment building. Kit could feel its overwhelming heat while moving towards its source. He was afraid, however curiosity outweighed the young boy's sense of reason. Now hiding behind a pile of debris, Kit watched as two figures, clad in a strange armor, fought in a clearing surrounded by ruined buildings and giant, monstrous, bones.

One combatant was wearing a silver armor, seemily made out of metallic bone, and was shooting a continuous stream of fire, at his opponent. The other combatant however was on the defensive, protecting his torso with two oddly shaped daggers, and was wearing a similar armor, however it was grey and had a full face helmet which looked like a raven.

"Marshals? What are they doing here?" Kit asked himself.

For a moment the Silver Marshal's fire relented, allowing the Raven Marshal to charge his opponent and take the offensive.

"And why are they fighting?" Kit asked himself in utter bewilderment as the two Marshals charged one another.

Once again, the Silver Marshal launched a fire attack from one of his hands, however the Raven Marshal leaped into the air dodging. Immediately following this, the Raven Marshal threw one of his daggers at his opponent and hit his mark, resulting in the weapon getting embedded in the Silver Marshal's sternum. As the Silver Marshal stumbled, trying to recover from his newfound wound, Kit noticed he was holding something in one of his hands. Something he was trying to protect.

The Raven Marshal wasted no time, and closed the distance on his opponent. With little struggle, he thrusts his dagger into the Silver Marshal's stomach and lifts him into the air. Then, with one great throw, the Raven Marshal chucks his enemy across the clearing and into the alleway.

With little time to react, Kit watched as the Silver Marshal came crashing down beside him. The young boy collapsed, trying to conceal himself behind debris, however the wounded Marshal didn't move a muscle and merely bled.

"What do I do?" Kit asked himself in a panic.

In the distance the young boy could hear the approaching sound of footsteps.

"What do I do?" Kit asked himself again.

Then, with the slightest of gestures, the Silver Marshal tilts his head toward Kit and reaches out. In a moment that stretched on endlessly in the young boy's mind, Kit came to a decision and reached out with all the strength he could muster, throwing the Marshal over his shoulders.

As fast as he could, the young boy sprinted down the alleyway carry the wounded man over his shoulders. However as he ran, something strange occurred. The item the Marshal was protecting started to light up, distracting the already panicked young boy. Then, in a quick flash of light, a holographic woman projected herself out of the item and faced Kit.

"Boy, you're being pursued!" declared the holographic woman.

Trying to make sense of what was happening. Kit looked down at the one addressing him.

"You can't run or hide. You'll have to fight." stated the woman.

"With what?! Kit exclaimed.

"The Mantle I'm being projec-" before the woman could finish, she stretched out her hand, pointing behind Kit, and shouted, "Look out!" as the Raven Marshal appeared behind the young boy with a fist at the ready.

With no time to react, Kit braced himself for impact only for the Silver Marshal to raise one of his arms into the air taking the brunt of the Raven Marshal's attack. This however wouldn't be enough as the pair were sent flying toward a nearby wall. The Silver Marshal's back made contact first, creating a massive hole in the process which Kit flew through before landing relatively unharmed in the decaying shell of an abandoned apartment building.

Frantically, the young boy looked for the Silver Marshal's body as blood poured from a wound on his head, only to spot the item which the holographic woman was still projecting herself out of.

"Put on the Binder, and don the Mantle with intent to transform." instructed the woman, "It's the only way you're getting out of this alive." she finished.

Kit looks back, seeing the motionless body of the Silver Marshal, and quickly contemplates what he should do. Then, out of the corner of his eye, the young boy spots the approaching silhouette of the Raven Marshal.

With no more time left to think, Kit sprints toward the Binder, picks it up, and fastens the odd device to his right arm. Then, as if by instinct, the young boy raises his left hand and hits a bottom on the item activating it.

In a brilliant display of light, Kit transforms into a black armor similar to the other two Marshals, and readies himself for combat. His visored helmet styled after a hound, staring down the approaching opponent.

Letting his training takeover, Kit darts toward the Raven Marshal and throws a quick jab that doesn't connect. To the young boy's surprise, his enemy evaporated into a mist of shadow only to emerge from the ground beneath his feet uppercutting him. This knocks the wind out of Kit as his back makes contact with the ground.

This moment of vulnerability doesn't last long however as the young boy recovers by rolling onto his front, and going in for a leg sweep. Much to the Raven Marshal's surprise, Kit's attack connects and drops him with tremendous force, the impact of his landing kicking up a cloud of dormant dust. Following his, the young boy uses the momentum of his attack to pick himself up only to watch as his opponent's body fades into the shadowed floor.

Looking around frantically, Kit thinks to himself, "Crap! Where did he go?" only to hear a response from the holographic woman in his mind.

"Nevermind that." the woman states, "We need to find a way out of here."

"Did you just read my mind?" Kit thinks to himself.

"In battle our thoughts become as one." the woman explained."That however doesn't matter. You have to escape."

Unbeknownst to Kit, the Raven Marshal lurked in the shadows reading to strike.

"The Marshal is dead, and you're outmatched. Staying here is just going to get you killed." the woman declared in a frantic tone, "The Mantle, the armor you're wearing, should have made you fast enough to get away."

With tremendous force, the Raven Marshal emerged from the shadows and struck Kit, only for his attack to have little effect due to the young boy's block. As the impact of the punch sent Kit's feet skidding across the floor, the Raven Marshal faded back into the shadows.

"How do you know the Marshal is dead?" Kit asked inside his mind while cautiously approaching the Silver Marshal's body.

"Check your helmet's visor." the woman explained, "There isn't a pulse."

Doing as he was instructed, Kit looked at the corner of his helmet's visor and saw that the Silver Marshal had flatlined.

"So there isn't." Kit thought to himself.

"I can create two holographic copies of you." the woman stated as Kit rolled the Marshal's body over, "When the assalent shows himself again I can send one to distract him, another toward the hole, while you jump out the nearby window."

Bending down, Kit touched the empty holes in the Silver Marshal's stomach and sternum.

"Where did the daggers g-" before Kit could finish, the Raven Marshal appeared behind the young boy and plunged a blade into his back.

Though the blade cracked through the armor, and pierced the young boy's skin becoming embedded, this did little to deter Kit as he spun around to face the Raven Marshal while pulling the dagger out of his back. With one forceful strike, and blood pouring out of his fresh wound, the young boy impaled the Raven Marshal's hand with his own weapon and kicked him back.

"Whatever your plan was," Kit thought directed at the woman, "Do it."

From Kit's position, the boy and two identical holographic figures made a break for it each toward their respective target. One holograph sprinted at the Raven Marshal, another toward the hole in the apartment building's wall, while the young boy himself used what strength he could muster to break through a nearby window.

The Raven Marshal engages the first holograph only to have his own trick from earlier play out before him as his dagger cuts through nothing but air. He then gives chase to the figure running toward the hole only to stop and watch as it fades away. Realizing he'd been tricked, the Raven Marshal sprints toward the window only to be greeted by the sight of an abandoned Foredale street. Kit had escaped, however the cost of doing so was high.

In the deserted remains of a convenience store, the young boy, no longer transformed, struggles to pull out his phone while attempting to put pressure on his bleeding wound. He dials a single number, and wearily says, "Jaegan. I need your help." before slipping into unconsciousness.

"Kit? Kit are you there!?" asks the frantic voice of an old man.

The young boy doesn't say a word as blood continues to pour from his wound.

"Don't worry, I'll find you." the old man declares, "Just...just hang on."


	2. Powerless 2 Moving Forward

Night had fallen upon Foredale as the ceaseless rain continued to fall. The city's ruined streets were quiet, with only the distant sound of an engine, and the faint tapping of rainfall breaking through the otherwise still silence. From the window his opponent jumped out of, the Grey Marshal watched as a lone vehicle parked itself beside an abandoned convenience store.

"Mentor." called out the voice of young woman, "Are we going after him?"

The Grey Marshal turned around and placed a strange device in the young woman's hand.

"No, we're not." replied Mentor.

The young woman's red eyes widened as she tried to make sense of what her teacher just said.

"I was too hasty." Mentor declared as he started to make his way out of the building, "Attacking that child may have been a mistake."

"Why do you say that?" the young woman asked.

"His actions were not of a Marshal." Mentor explained, "But of how a Marshal should act."

From the nearby window, the young woman watched as an elderly Asian man frantically carried a wounded Kit out of the abandoned convenience store.

"Aya," Mentor directed at the young woman, "The galaxy is on the precipice of change."

The young woman diverted her attention away from the window and back toward her teacher.

"We're outnumbered and need all the allies we can get." Mentor continued, "I want to see if my brief impression of that boy was correct. To determine whether or not he has what it takes."

"And if he doesn't?" Aya asked bluntly.

"Then he dies." responded Mentor.

Facing the window again, Aya watched as the elderly Asian man placed Kit in the back seat of his car before promptly speeding off. Thinking little of what she just saw, the white haired young woman stepped over the fallen Marshal's untransformed corpse, and left the building beside her teacher.

As Kit's body fought to keep itself together in the car's backseat, misty images of old, and faint feelings of heat, filled the young man's unconscious mind.

The lifeless corpse of Kit's father lying on the ground with a knife in his heart, the unresponsive body of his mother lying motionless beneath a pile of burning rubble. These inescapable images had been burnt into the young man's mind, and resurfaced once more as his body fought for its continued survival.

Despite everything that he'd been through on that fateful day, Kit could only feel one thing as he relived the single most horrific moment in his life. With the family home burning to cinders before him, and his mother lying motionless beside him, Kit felt alone.

His hands were torn open, bleeding, and burning, however Kit couldn't feel them. In the dreamscape that played out memories the young man wished to bury, he couldn't help but think a thought he felt ashamed for even considering. He destroyed his hands in a desperate hope to save his mother, yet though her body survived, her mind did not. Kit wondered if he should have left his mother to die, and he hated himself for it.

Staring down at his mutilated hands, Kit realized something strange. The fire which engulfed the family home provided no warmth. Yet the streets of Foredale, and it's ceaseless rain, were cold.

With the sudden crack of a lightning bolt, Kit awoke and opened his eyes to a familiar ceiling. Raising his hands to his face, the young man noticed several strange metal protrusions jutting out of his arms, with large circular ones near his wrists being the chief stand outs.

"One day, I hope the rain stops." Kit said to himself as he set his arms back down.

Looking around, Kit realized he was in the hidden basement of his guardian's cafe. Long ago it used to serve as some sort of hideout, evidence of which could be seen in the boxed up equipment and dusty old computers that lined the room's walls.

"Seems he's awake." said a muffled female voice from the cafe's ground floor.

"Told you he's tough." declared the familiar voice of an elderly man.

"You're right Jaegen, I'm sorry for doubting you." said the female voice with a cheery tone, "Here, I'll go fetch him to make amends."

Before he knew it, the holographic form of an attractive woman appeared before Kit, catching him by surprise.

"Come, it's time to get up." the holographic woman said with a wry smile.

The woman vanished as quick as she appeared, leaving Kit alone once more. Slowly, the young man rotated himself onto the bed's side, and stood up. Though Kit's wound was bandaged, he risked reopening it if he moved too fast. With what little strength he could muster, the young man forced himself up and hobbled toward the stairs while keeping a hand on his back.

"You look good all things considered." Jaegan stated as Kit emerged from cafe's backroom.

Catching his breath, Kit leans against the backrooms door frame and takes in the atmosphere of his guardian's establishment. The cafe known as "Rogue's Gallery" was a small eatery that fit neatly in a back alley which was lined with memorabilia and mementos from a more hopeful time in Foredale.

The walls were a warm dark brown, and were lined with old newspaper clippings that chronicled the journeys' of the heroes Orion: the Blind Hunter, and Selkie: the Water Maiden, Kit's Father and Mother respectively. Beyond that however were pieces that recorded the deeds of the two heroes' arch enemies, a group of criminals simply known as The Rogues.

After eyeing up Kit's muscular and toned physique to see if there were any problems, Jaegen shifted his attention to the holographic woman who was sitting at the counter and extended his arm toward her.

"The lovely lady here explained what happened." Jaegan elaborated, "Just sit down and eat, you've got a long day ahead of you."

"The name's Delta." the woman stated as Kit took his seat.

"How are you feeling?" Jaegan asked Kit as he set down a bowl of oatmeal.

"Exhausted." Kit replied simply.

"That's going to be a problem then." Jaegan declared. "Every Friday the Neophyte Academy forces students to spar."

"How do you know that?" Kit asked mid spoonful.

"Kept my ear to the ground, drank with the right people." Jaegan stated with a grin, "First session is meant as a surprise, figured I'd help you out."

Kit looked up at the old man, and saw the lurking deviousness of a trickster in his smile. A deviousness that was only reinforced by one of Jaegan's favorite newspaper clippings which hung framed behind him. With the headline: "Foredale's Most Wanted" an individual regaled in a black long coat, and dark red gloves, runs along the city's rooftops trying to get away from police.

"Isn't that….cheating?" asked Kit.

"Only if I broke the rules," Jaegan responded simply, "Which I didn't."

Stepping away from the counter, Jaegan walks into the backroom toward the basement.

"When you're finished head back down to the storage room," directed the old man, "There's something I wanna give you."

After finishing his breakfast, Kit did what Jaegan told him to. Upon getting half way down the stairs, the young man had to quickly catch a seemingly leather or spandex bodysuit that his guardian had thrown at him.

"With our unfortunate disposition there's no such thing as a fair fight." Jaegan explained as Kit inspected the bodysuit.

To the young boy's surprise, the suit had been used extensively and mended countless times. Kit was certain that at one point it belong to Jaegen, which would certainly explain all the sealed up bullet holes.

"Honor is a luxury people like us can't afford. Those with powers just have too many advantages," Jaegan stated as he walked toward Kit with a pair of dark red gloves in hand, "So bend the rules when you have too; cheat if you must."

With the black bodysuit flung over the young boy's shoulder, Jaegan placed the dark red gloves in Kit's hands.

"These gloves are lined with lead and have reinforced knuckles. They'll give your punches an unexpected bite." Jaegan stated as he passed off the gloves to his ward, "That suit on the other hand will stop a knife, and hide those metal things from the public."

There was a weight to Jaegan's words which Kit couldn't quite grasp, a meaning that though he knew, he couldn't understand. Or perhaps a meaning he refused to understand.

"Whatever you decide to do with them is up to you," Jaegan's words were warm, he spoke like how a father would to his son, "Just keep in mind what I've said, and know I've got your back."

Leaving Kit alone, Jaegan returns to his cafe's counter.

"How's your wound?" Delta asked as she appeared in the room.

"Sore." Kit stated bluntly as he put on Jaegan's black bodysuit.

"That's to be expected," Delta elaborated, "Since the Mantle doesn't have any Essence to draw upon, your wounds take longer to heal.

"Essence?" Kit asked with a confused look.

"It's an energy that grants the wearer of a Mantle power once they awaken to it." Delta explained quickly, "There's more to it then that, but there's your simple answer."

A silence hung over the room as Kit finished getting dressed, and put on his jacket.

"And the metal things sticking out of my body, what are they?" asked Kit.

"That's your Mantle," Delta answered understanding Kit's confusion, "After activating the Binder, it bonded with your physiology and became one with you."

"What would happen if I tried to get it removed?" Kit forced himself to ask.

"You'd die." Delta stated sympathetically.

Kit let out a sigh, and hung his head in what could only be described as defeat. Delta couldn't help but notice the difference between the young man infront of her, and the one she met the night before. Though there was much about him she didn't understand, she knew the young man was troubled.

"Come now would be hero, don't be like that." Delta said softly as she placed her holographic finger beneath Kit's chin, "I know you can handle this, so quit your worrying and chin up."

Never allowing her finger to touch, Kit raised his head and looked into Delta's eyes.

"There we go." Delta said with a gentle gaze.

Fully dressed, Kit slowly walked up the stairs and emerged from the cafe's backroom once more.

"I've seen the color of your heart, and have found it wanting," Jaegan stated as he spotted Kit, "Those were the first words your Dad ever said to me, as he pressed the barrel of a gun against my forehead."

The old man, weathered and greying, remained silent for a time as he put away a cleaned bowl, "In the early days, your old man and I hated each other." Jaegan continued, "Every fight between us was one with intent to kill, yet in spite of that one could never do the other in."

Allowing his eyes to wander, Kit focused his attention on the oldest framed newspaper that hung on the walls of Rogue's Gallery as he listened to Jaegan speak. The paper who's headline read: 'New Vigilante Thwarts Criminal Activity', depicted a masked man clad in black fighting a street thug who wore a pair of dark red gloves.

"Eventually that hatred we had for one another faded, as did our more….murderous inclinations." Jaegan looked down, seemingly ashamed of a distant memory, "Looking book, I think we changed each other, though I still don't know how."

Though he had called Rogue's Gallery his home for years, there was something different about the familiar newspaper clippings which Kit couldn't decipher. For instance the paper titled: 'Throwdown at City Hall' seemed to come alive before the young man's eyes. Though the picture was a static shot of Orion and Silkie squaring off against a costumed Jaegan, Kit could feel the tension and respect between the trio.

"At some point, I cast aside my own selfish desires and threw my lot in with the Rogues," Jaegan continued, "For the longest time, I would have been fine with watching the world burn. Yet with the Rogues, I sought to change that very world by fighting it."

For a moment, Kit considered the idea that the framed newspapers, the chronicled legacy of his parents, seemed different due to his actions from the night before. It was a notion the young man quickly swept aside.

"Once more, I changed somewhere down the line but I can't quite figure out where." Jaegan mused while staring at Kit, "It's only in hindsight, when I look back, I realize there was a change in the first place."

Kit directed his attention back to Jaegan, but stopped as his eyes focused upon a single image that hung proudly over Rogue's Gallery's counter. Unlike the framed newspapers that lined the cafe's walls, this image was picture that caught a simple, yet joyous moment in time. Jaegan and Kit's father had their arms across one another's shoulders as they smiled at the camera. They weren't fighting, or dressed in the attire the public had come to know. They simply looked like people, plain and ordinary, who were having a good time.

"I guess all that has to be done for one to see how far they've come," Jaegan stopped for a moment, "Is for them to take a single step in a new direction."

A silence hung over Rogue's Gallery as Jaegan allowed his ward time to process everything he just said.

"Kit, you've come a long way since what happened to your parents, you're not as weak as you think you are," Jaegan's voice was stern, yet kind, "Once you take that step, I'm sure you'll see the same thing as me."

With those words uttered, Kit nodded softly, and began his walk to the Neophyte Academy.

The day ticked on normally with lessons focused upon general education, and the basics of being a hero. Nothing taught to Kit seemed strange or out of the ordinary, since it was the second day of school, however that quickly changed as the young man's class was taken to the Academy's gymnasium.

Unlike a normal gym dedicated to sporting events, the Academy's was built for one reason, sparring. There were several sections each designed for a specific purpose, however the one Kit and his class found themselves in was for general combat practice. Nothing fancy, this section of the Gym had a few large mats built into the floor, one of which the students surrounded as Sybille picked out the first pair of sparring partners.

As two students, a male who was rather large for his age, and a female whose mind was lost in the clouds, readied themselves for a fight, Sybille shifted her attention to the rest of the class and began to speak.

"Aspects," Sybille said simply, "Mutations that grant us powers."

As the words left the haggered teacher's lips, the female student who was sparring decided the strike the first blow. Her fingers rapidly extended out of their original position and twisted into sharp points which tore into the male student's arms drawing copious amounts of blood.

"Eggheads like to get philosophical when it comes to Aspects," Sybille declared unfaised, "They claim, they're a part of oneself made manifest."

Looking away from Sybille, Kit noticed that the female student was smirking as her bladed fingers continued to tear into the male student's arms. The young man couldn't help but wonder if that was how he looked last night beneath the Mantle's helmet. It was a thought that unnerved him.

"A cutting wit." Sybille's voice wranged out snapping Kit back to reality.

Suddenly, the male student grabbed onto the deeply plunged fingers of the female student and used them as a handle to lift his opponent into the air. Following this, the male student violently slammed the back of the female student into the mat knocking the wind out of her.

"An unyielding strength." Sybille said as she walked onto the matt signaling the end of the fight, "Maybe there's something to what they say."

After helping the female student to her feet, Sybille turned to the rest of the class. Though her focus was upon all her students, a part of her attention was focused on Kit, and Kit alone.

"To be a Hero, you need to have a firm grasp on who you are as a person," Sybille stated as Kit looked away trying to avoid his teacher's gaze, "Because if there's one thing I learned in my twenties years of doing this, it's that you can't fight your opponent if you're also fighting yourself."

Sybille paused for a moment, and placed her hand upon her hip.

"Now then," Sybille said ending her brief lecture, "Alex and Kit you're up."

Alex, a short slender kid with dark skin, stepped out of the lined up group of students with a rather displeased expression on his face.

"Come on instructor, you serious?" Alex asked with a pleading tone.

"Did I stutter?" Sybille's response was curt.

"You can't exactly call this a fair fight, he doesn't even have an Aspect." explained Alex.

For a brief moment the gym fell silent, there was a tension in the air which everyone could feel. Then, to everyone's surprise, Sybille cocked her head back and lashed out with a vicious and rather chilling laugh.

"Oh man," Sybille said trying to regain her composure, "This will be a lesson you won't soon forget."

On the mat, Kit takes off his gym shirt revealing the top of the black bodysuit. With the dark red gloves on and at the ready, the young man quickly loosens himself up as Alex steps onto the mat.

To make himself a smaller target, Kit turns so that his side is facing Alex and adopts a fighting stance. While preparing himself mentally the young man has the strangest realization, he no longer feels tired or exhausted.

"What do you think he'll do Kit?" Delta asks in Kit's mind.

"Go for my back." The young man thinks to himself in response.

In a flash, Alex disappears out of Kit's sight. In mere moments he reemerges behind Kit, however as he prepares to strike, Kit quickly twists around and punches Alex in the jaw. The blow lands perfectly, and thanks to the added heft of Jaegan's gloves, it tears open Alex's cheek causing it to bleed.

Kit follows this strike up with his free hand and punches the area between Alex's eye and nose, once more causing an unexpected amount of damage. Not allowing Alex time to recover, Kit punches his opponent in the temple. This is then followed by a kick to the stomach which sends Alex flying off the mat.

Understanding the fight was over, Kit remained on the mat as Sybille approached a badly beaten Alex to check on his condition.

"Heroes without Aspects tend to have chips on their shoulders," Sybille said as she squatted beside Alex, "Their dedication and training compensates for their lack of powers. You'd do well to remember that the next time you underestimate your opponent."

Standing up, Sybille points at the students and shouts, "Willamina, you're up."

A stern looking young woman with black skin emerged from the group, and made her way to the mat.

"I expect you won't make Alex's mistake," Sybille said as she helped her beaten student up.

"Two fights in a row? Well that isn't fair." Delta stated seemingly annoyed.

"That's probably the point." thought Kit.

After shaking himself off, Kit adopts a battle stance and waits for his opponent to get ready.

"Life isn't fair," Kit thought, "Sometimes your opponent is stronger, other times there's more than one. A hero has to figure out when they should fight, and when they should run."

"Which are you choosing?" Delta asked concerned

As she stepped onto the mat, Willamina removed her gym shirt revealing two large cybernetic arms.

"Fight until it's pointless." Kit thought as he noticed the scarring around Willamina's shoulder sockets.

"Strange," Delta stated, "You weren't like this last night."

Quicky, Willamina closed the distance on Kit and threw a punch with her metallic fist that broke her opponent's arm upon impact. She then followed this up with an uppercut that Kit narrowly avoided. Trying to shift the course of battle, Kit sharply thrusts his knee up and cracks Willamina in the jaw causing her to stagger back.

Letting his broken arm dangle, Kit regains his footing and throws a punch that Willamina quickly blocks with her forearm. Capitalizing on the situation, Willamina headbutts Kit then follows this up by punching him in the head causing her opponent to drop.

With blood running down his face, Kit struggles to pick himself up as Willamina slowly walks towards him.

"Get up Kit," Delta ordered, "I know you've got more than that."

"I'm trying." Kit thought meekly.

"No you're not." Delta challenged, "You started looking for a way out of this fight the moment you saw that girl."

Once again, Kit tried to pick himself up but his arms refused to move.

"Instead of standing your ground like last night, or even in your last fight; you let fear and self doubt cloud your judgement," Delta stated, "You're stronger than you think you are, I've seen that fact for myself so get up."

From above, Willamina brings her foot crashing down and crushes Kit's back causing his wound from last night to reopen.

"Find the strength to stand on your own two feet, and get up." Delta shouts as Kit cries out in pain.

"I can't." Kit thinks trying to stay focused.

Grabbing Kit's arms, Willamina digs her foot further into her opponents back causing him to cry out even louder.

"Get up!" shouts Delta.

"I give up!" Kit yells leading to the fight finally ending.

Silently, Sybille watches as Willamina walks off the mat leaving Kit by himself to bleed.

"Someone take him to the infirmary." Sybille finally orders.

As the students leave the gymnasium, with Kit in toe, Sybille remains behind thinking to herself.

"It's a shame," the haggered teacher says to herself, "For a moment there, he showed some potential."

With the school day over, and his reopened wounds healed, Kit began his long walk home. The part of Foredale the young man had to venture through was a particularly desolate, and rundown part of town. It wasn't any worse than the wider city at large, however it was rather quiet which made it rather peaceful all things considering.

While walking, Kit noticed a police car parked beside an abandoned building with its windows open. Much to the young man's surprise, he could hear the frantic voice of a dispatcher come from the car's radio.

"We've got an ongoing bank robbery on the corner of Fifth and Seventh. Requesting any nearby units to respond," called out the dispatcher, "Wanted criminal Hercule "The Goliath" Thaysos has been spotted at the scene of the crime."

"Goliath….shit," stated the female officer as Kit stopped to watch.

"We're only a few minutes away, should we go?" asked the male officer.

"Only if you have a death wish," explained the female officer, "We'll just leave this one be, say we were chasing after a mugger or something."

"Yea, we should probably do that." said the male officer.

Sharply turning his head, Kit notices Delta as she beckons him to enter the abandoned building beside the police car. The young man didn't know what she wanted, however it was apparent she was none to pleased.

As Kit dips into the building, Delta goes in for a slap. It doesn't connect due to her nature as a hologram, however the intent of her action was clear.

"What the hell were you thinking, giving up like you did?" Delta shouted abandoning her calm demeanor.

Ashamed, Kit looks down which angers Delta even more.

"Hey!" Delta shouts even more riled up, "Look at me when I'm talking to you!"

Kit continues to look down, however Delta closes the already slim distance between the two causing the young man to arch his back backward.

"The fight wasn't fair, and it didn't matter," Kit muttered, "There was no point getting hurt again."

"And what if it had mattered?" Delta asked more composed than before, but still with a tinge of anger, "Would you've given up? Would you've run away?"

"Yea, probably." Kit said with his head still down.

"If you're that much of a coward, then why are you trying to become a hero?" asked Delta.

For a brief moment, a hazy image of Kit's father lying dead on the ground came to him.

"Why…" Kit said as he backed away and looked up at Delta, "For eight years I've asked myself the same question, and I haven't found an answer."

Letting Kit talk, Delta backed up and remained silent.

"My parents chose being heroes over being with me and I don't understand why," Kit explained with shame in his voice, "I know the question is selfish but I can't get it out of my head.

"So that's why you're going to the academy," Delta stated calmly, "You're trying to find an answer by walking the path your parents took."

Kit nods as he leans against a nearby wall.

"Sounds like the punch line to some twisted joke, doesn't it?" Kit says as he looks down once more, "God, I really am pathetic."

For a time Delta remains silent, processing what Kit had said. Things started to make sense, however not everything had fallen into place.

"Yesterday, why did you try to save that Marshal?" Delta asked as she crossed her arms.

"Dunno, got swept up in the moment I guess." replies Kit.

"I'll be frank," Delta declares as she straightens herself out, "I think the reason you're going to the academy is just an excuse."

"Then what's my real reason?" Kit asks as he looks up at Delta.

"Like you I don't know, at least not fully," states Delta, "Though I do know one thing, people don't set out to be heroes just to answer a question."

From the window, the pair hear the faint sound of a panicked police officer come over the radio.

"Six officers down, requesting backup at the Old National Bank," echoes the police radio.

Getting off the wall, Kit straightens himself up while maintaining eye contact with Delta.

"Tell me, why didn't you activate your mantle during the sparring session?" asked Delta, "If you had, nobody could have beat you."

"I didn't want the others knowing I had it." replied Kit.

"Just in case you ever had to use it again, right?" Delta asked piecing together an answer.

For a time Kit remained silent, lost in thought, until finally responding with, "I guess so, yea."

"Idiots, they should have just stayed put. At least then they'd still be alive." the policewoman shouted from her car.

As Kit makes his way out of the building, Delta extends her arm out toward the door and says, "If you want to see how far you've come, now's the time to take a step in a new direction."

Kit nods, a bit of light returning to his eyes, and sprints off toward the bank with all the strength he could muster.

Only a few minutes away from Kit's position, a scene of pure carnage and terror replaces what was once a quiet Foredale neighborhood. The mangled corpses of dozens of people, civilians and police officers alike, line the ruined city's streets as blood slowly turns them red.

As Foredale's rain falls heavily with no end in sight, a young girl, unable to process what is going on before her, sits motionless as she watches a massive hulk of a man, pound the lifeless body of a police officer into pulp. Seven of Foredale's finest tried to bring down the monster masquerading as a man named Goliath, however in the end they were powerless to do anything.

Forcing herself to do something, the young girl grabs the severed upper half of her mother and frantically begins dragging her away in a bid to escape. Noticing this, Goliath snaps his attention away from the pulverized officer and toward the fleeing girl. With a blank expression, the hulking brute of a man begins to walk toward the girl, and takes his time doing so upon noticing her broken leg.

Still dragging what remains of her mother, the young girl desperately looks back down the street and sees the distant figure of a young man running toward her. Then, back toward Goliath, the young girl hears the crack of a gunshot. Looking to see what caused it, she spots a one armed police officer leaning up against a car door, his remaining arm is extended out toward Goliath, and revolver smoking. Now, with a bullet hole in his back, Goliath turns around and rips off the top half of the officer who hurt him, completely forgetting about the young girl who he was going to harm.

Losing grip of what remains of her mother, the young girl stumbles and stops as she looks down at her blood soaked hands. She can't believe what is happening, and is having trouble acting on instinct alone.

With the distance between Kit and Goliath almost closed, Delta states, "Touch the round pieces of metal near your wrists together with intent to transform. That will activate your Mantle."

Following Delta's instructions, Kit raises his arms while running to begin the process of transforming, however as he does so the young girl looks back and sees something that brings amazement to her otherwise terrified eyes.

As Kit's wrists touch, several strands of black, bonelike, metallic material sprout out of the young man's metal protrusions and form his Mantle as he runs. Due to the suit's ability to enhance physical characteristics, it takes even less time for Kit to close the distance, and within mere moments the young man leaps over the young girl then punches an unaware Goliath down the street into a flipped over car.

"You're not alone." Kit declares to the young girl, "I'll protect you."

With the rain falling heavily upon him, and the carnage of Goliath's rampage surrounding him, Kit prepares himself for the long fight ahead.


End file.
